Renault interview with Bell

Bob Bell, the Renault F1 Team's Chassis Technical Director, discusses
the challenges of the 2006 World Championship.
Q: Bob, what is your assessment of the overall competitiveness of the F1
field this season?
Bob Bell: I think the level was ...

Q: Bob, what is your assessment of the overall competitiveness of the F1
field this season?

Bob Bell: I think the level was similar to what we saw in 2005.
There were two teams in front, and the rest of the grid fighting behind
them. I think overall reliability was better this year, and the level
of performance took another step forward. But that's no surprise. In
aerodynamics, for example, an annual gain of 10 to 15% in not usual in a
calendar year. What's more, there was a very intense battle between the
two tyre manufacturers.

Q: Looking at the R26, the first thing people saw was that it was a
good-looking car...

BB: It was magnificent. Naturally, the regulations dictate almost all
the proportions of a modern Formula 1 car. But the R26 was very elegant.

Q: What were its strengths?

BB: It was always a very consistent car. It was easy to set up, and
was competitive on every type of circuit. It gave the drivers a lot of
confidence. It had excellent basic performance. And it's now the world
champion!

Q: You developed the car throughout the year. If it was taken to Bahrain
right now, including all the development that has been conducted through
the year...

BB: It would be at least a second a lap faster.

Q: It goes without saying that the atmosphere in the team now is
fantastic. But you had a challenging year at many points, and the summer
was the toughest part. How did the team respond then?

BB: First of all, I think that when the tuned mass dampers were banned*,
it made everybody much more determined. We wanted to prove that we could
win without them. There is really strong morale in the team and we went
through some turbulent times, but we didn't give up. We accepted the
results, and kept on working. The attitude of our colleagues in Viry was
identical. That's one of the things that makes me proud about 2006: in
spite of all the difficulties we had, we never lost faith.